Jackal Among Snakes

Elaine watched Argrave as he ate his breakfast. It was more than a bit disconcerting, considering she deliberately chose him out of all his party members to stare at. Anneliese was feeding her Starsparrow, Durran was examining all of the food curiously, and Galamon sat in silence. Of the three, he certainly didn’t picture himself being the most interesting to look at.

Elaine had long ago finished her meal, but Argrave still had much and more to eat. Ever since becoming Black Blooded, he found his appetite much greater than it was before. Maybe that was just because he exerted himself more.

Argrave finally stared back at her, chewing through a soft slice of meat. He examined the black gaseous magic within her, considering it a good exercise to help him distinguish between the different ranks of magic by sight alone.

“I think you could become A-rank anytime you want, now,” Argrave guessed, hoping to break some of the silence.

She shifted in her chair and crossed her arms. “And how would you know?”

Argrave tapped his temple, indicating his eyes. “You think I got these lamps because I like the way they look? No—I can see your magic. Very impressive.” He lowered his hand and shook his head. He deliberately mentioned this ability, hoping vaguely she might report it to princess Elenore. “I got what I wanted from the Low Way… and from the Burnt Desert beyond it.” One of his Brumesingers jumped up on his lap, gazing at the green-eyed woman across from him.

Some of the iciness was dispelled by his conversation, and Elaine looked down at the gray fox on his lap. “I hope those creatures of yours made no mess.”

“They never do… unless I want that to happen,” Argrave pointed his fork. “So—let’s get to brass tacks. How is business?” he took another bite as he waited for her answer.

“Good. You mentioned that I could become an A-rank mage—the issue is, I’m too busy to head to the Tower of the Gray Owl to study the process,” she nodded with the faintest of smiles. “The Veidimen are a bit stingy. They’re only distributing the lowest-ranked druidic spells. Even still, they sell like nothing else, and I dare not cripple this business in infancy. Rowe is a hostile prick, but I very rarely have to see him. At this point, I very nearly make as much gold as my brother.”

“Do they trade any Ebonice?” Argrave got to the matter he cared about most.

Elaine shook her head. “Don’t know what that is. We’ve only traded spellbooks and books about enchantment.”

“Do they carry black weaponry?” Galamon butted in. “Crystalline.”

Elaine looked at him. “Maybe. I seldom go personally anymore.”

Argrave tapped the table, thinking. “Alright. If you can make it happen, I’d like to see some of the Veidimen smugglers.”

“What for?” she frowned.

“Come on. I set you up with this killer business and asked for nothing in return,” Argrave held his hands out.

Elaine tapped her finger against her elbow as she sat there with arms crossed. “You’re right,” she agreed after a time. “I’ll see what I can do, but if you’re here a week and no longer… you’ll just have to get lucky if you want to meet them. Voyages to Veiden take a while. Might be they stop by. Might be they don’t.”

Argrave nodded. It was the best he’d be able to get. “Alright. The enchanted jewelry that I left with you—I certainly hope they’re all appraised by now.”

Elaine nodded. “About two weeks ago, the last of them came back in. Very valuable stuff—I’ve got them in our vault. A lot of the appraisers made offers to buy them. I refused, naturally, per our arrangement.”

“Very nice. After I finish up here, I’d like to see them,” Argrave tapped his food with his fork. “I’ll pick out what I plan on using. Everything else, I’d like to leave to you to sell. 75-25 split, my favor.”

She bit her lip, then bartered, “60-40.”

Argrave placed his hands on the table. “You’re shaking me down.”

“It’ll be hard to sell them to anyone that doesn’t know what they do. I’m in contact with the appraisers,” Elaine pointed out.

“Forget that,” Argrave placed his elbows against the table loudly and leaned in. “Who did you use as the appraiser—that old man Mucullen on the edge of town? Or maybe that tower master Quint in the southwestern center of Jast? I know who you might’ve brought this to. I can sell them fine—don’t cheat me. 80-20. My favor,” he raised it.

Elaine stared, biting her lip harder as she deliberated. “75-25,” she brought that figure back.

“I don’t need you for this, and I already paid my service fee for the appraisal a long time ago. Those items are mine. I’m trying to do you a favor, yet you keep slapping my hand away. 85-15,” he raised his share once again, voice stern.

Elaine tensed up, staring down Argrave. Durran’s gaze jumped between the two of them, waiting to see what would happen.

Eventually, her tension dissipated and Elaine shook her head. “Dealing with you the last time was definitely different. Fine… 85-15, gods be damned,” she said defeatedly.

Argrave smiled as though his sternness never was, then resumed eating contentedly.

#####

Elaine led Argrave to the Vyrbell vault where the jewelry was supposedly kept. She insisted that they go alone due to her brother’s rules, but Argrave only agreed once Anneliese confirmed she held no malicious intent. He thought things might be awkward between them—they had parted on a strange note. Elaine never brought her earlier courtship proposal up. Argrave definitely wouldn’t, either.

The place was very well guarded by knights and by walls of enchanted steel. The main door was heavy enough to require two men to open it, and the vault itself was divided into cells, each with another heavy locked door. The ceiling was low, and Argrave needed to bend his neck to stand straight.

After a little run through the maze-like vault, they arrived at one of the cells, and Elaine retrieved a key. The jewels were kept in a simple box per piece, alongside a detailed dissertation on their effects. Argrave spent a fair while sorting through them, determining which ones were useful and which could be sold.

What was stopping someone from wearing ten or more enchanted rings, alongside pounds of enchanted necklaces and bracelets? Nothing… ostensibly. But there was an issue of resonance. For the ring that Anneliese and Argrave wore, it merely contained a spell—one could wear ten of them without much issue. They were portable spells, in essence. The exorbitant cost was the main barrier.

For other enchantments, though, the matter was different. Enchantments made in the distant past, as those Argrave had appraised, affect the body itself. As such, if the enchantments are incompatible, their efficacy would be reduced by an astonishing degree. If one wears a ring that helps its wearer resist fire and a ring that helps them resist ice, the two would combat each other and nullify their effects near completely. By contrast, complementary enchantments might supplement each other.

As such, Argrave needed to choose a good set for each of his three companions and himself.

Galamon stood to be the frontliner, always. He had amazing hardiness, and his survivability could hardly be improved more. Argrave chose a set of anklets that augmented speed. Speed and power were not different—they were one in the same. Galamon would always benefit from more speed. They were anklets… but considering how big the man was, he might need to wear them as bracelets. Additionally, Argrave found him a necklace to resist electricity, which Argrave considered the most potent form of elemental magic. The Giantkillers gave him lightning immunity, but only when held. Beyond that, no other compatible enchantment suited him.

Durran would likely fill the space between Galamon and the two mages—Anneliese and Argrave. He was capable with his glaive, but also capable with his magic. Versatility was his specialty. Something all-purpose suited him. Argrave chose out any enchantments that helped with his defense. Though his wyvern-scale armor was very good, it fell short of what Anneliese and Argrave wore. In the end, it amounted to a steel ring that hardened one’s skin, coupled with a set of earrings that strengthened the bones.

Considering Argrave did not know if Durran would stick around… he didn’t plan on giving them to him immediately.

As for Anneliese, Argrave couldn’t deny he wanted to give her mostly defensive enchantments. In the end, he knew it wasn’t the right call. He chose a few rings that affected focus and concentration. It would enable her to aim better in battle and ignore distractions easier. She was already a calm person by nature, and he hoped this would capitalize on that strength of hers further yet. On a more personal note, he hoped it might help with some of the more negative aspects of her empathic nature. She seldom complained, but Argrave still felt remorse when he recalled her suffering in the Low Way of the Rose and the Thorngorge Citadel.

Lastly, Argrave himself. He stood to be the heavy hitter of the squad, especially with the Blessing of Supersession. He had hoped for something to augment the strength of any electric spells. Unfortunately, he didn’t get lucky. After that, he’d been hoping for something to aid with blood magic—once again, no such fortune. In the end, he settled on a ring that strengthened his wind magic. It might be useful for dealing with projectiles.

The real haul was to be the money he gained from selling all of these.

“There,” Argrave finished, standing up once again with a piece of paper in his hand. He’d recorded everything that was going to be pawned off. “Everything left, I leave to you to sell.”

“How do you know I won’t cheat you?” Elaine looked at the pieces scattered throughout the room.

“You asked me something similar last time, as I recall. I’ll know,” Argrave said plainly. “I know a lot of things. It might be that I’m the Bat.”

When Argrave knew to look for guilt, he saw it written on her features clearly.

“It might be I asked you to report about me, because I was curious what you might say,” Argrave hazarded a guess based on what Anneliese had told him. Elaine’s widening eyes indicated that he’d hit the nail on the head. Princess Elenore had received some information about his actions from Elaine. That meant the princess was aware of him. He supposed it was inevitable, given that he’d used her alias to enter this city a long time ago.

“Or maybe these prying eyes of mine can read the mind,” Argrave said suggestively, dismissing his own words with a smile. “Who can say?”

She was obviously stunned for a moment, but slowly she settled down. “I’ll get it done,” she promised.

Argrave clapped, the sound muffled by his gloves. “Excellent. Now I can stop playing the hardliner.”

Elaine looked up at him. “You have changed a lot, haven’t you?”

Argrave frowned. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know,” she shook her head. “You just seem… harsher. Less…” she trailed off, leaving a word unspoken.

Argrave laughed and made for the door. “Sore over the split? Come on. I can’t be a doormat. I hope there’s no hard feelings. I still consider you and your brother friends, you know.”

“Never mind. Forget I said anything,” she changed the subject, walking ahead of Argrave to exit the cell.

Argrave stood in silence, neck bent to avoid bumping his head on the low ceiling. He contemplated her words for a few seconds. After, he stepped forward, mind refocused on getting all that he needed from Jast.

“By the way—I might need your help with something. It’s about this new companion of mine…” he called out.